Investigative Psychology: Offender Profiling and the Analysis of Criminal Action

Preface xi

Acknowledgements xv

Part I The Road to Investigative Psychology 1
The Emergence of Investigative Psychology from Offender Profiling

1 Introducing Investigative Psychology 3

Psychology and Investigations 5

The Emergence of IP 8

Origins in ‘Offender Profiling’ 8

The Investigative Cycle 10

Disciplines Drawn On by IP 15

Mind the Gap – Bridging Policing and Psychology 15

System Integration versus Expert Opinion 18

Questions that Investigative Psychologists Ask 19

Beyond Crime and Criminals 23

Linking Theory and Practice – The Book Ahead 23

Summary 24

Further Reading 25

Questions for Discussion and Research 25

2 Foundations: Description and Classification 27

Psychology and Investigations 28

Historical Background 29

‘Profiling’ Emerges 37

The Significance of Inference 40

Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 41

Summary 41

Further Reading 42

Questions for Discussion and Research 43

3 The Coming of the Informed Detective 45

Medical Contributions 46

From Fact to Fiction to Fact 47

Distinguishing Deduction and Induction 52

Reverse Diagnosis 52

Serial Killers 53

Jack the Ripper 54

Beyond Speculation 56

Summary 57

Further Reading 57

Questions for Discussion and Research 58

4 The Age of Profiling and the Road to Investigative Psychology 59

Understanding Criminal Actions 60

The Emergence of Investigative Advice 67

The FBI Behavioral Science Unit 72

The Emergence of Investigative Psychology 73

Summary 76

Further Reading 77

Questions for Discussion and Research 78

Part II Fundamentals 79
A Framework for Studying Criminal Actions and Inferences about Offenders

5 The Radex of Criminality 81

The A→C Equations 83

The Hierarchy of Criminal Variation 88

A Model of Criminal Variation 96

The Radex of Criminality 111

Development and Change 113

Summary 116

Further Reading 117

Questions for Discussion and Research 118

6 Personal Narratives of Crime 119

The Narratives of Criminality 121

Empirical Study of Criminal Narratives 126

Scripts and Narratives 135

Summary 136

Further Reading 137

Questions for Discussion and Research 137

7 Finding Action Patterns and Drawing Profiles 139

Criminal Actions 140

Salience 144

The Basis for Inferences 148

An Action System of Crime Differentiation 155

The Example of Arson 157

Narratives as Action Systems 160

Forms of Inference: Towards a Narrative Action System Model of Inference 162

Summary 164

Further Reading 165

Questions for Discussion and Research 165

8 Criminal Psychogeography 167

Modelling Criminals’ Use of Space 169

The Behavioural Approach and Propinquity 171

The Cognitive Approach and Morphology of Crime Locations 176

Settings for Personal Narratives 181

The Value of Imaginary Maps 186

Temporal Changes 192

Emotionality, Crime Type and Distance 193

Challenges to the Study of Criminal Geography 193

Research Agenda 196

Summary 196

Further Reading 197

Questions for Discussion and Research 197

9 Investigative Information 199

The Challenges of Investigative Information 201

Weaknesses in Identification and Eyewitness Testimony 211

Investigative Interviewing 215

Interview Procedures 217

The Cognitive Interview 218

PACE and PEACE 221

Research Approach to Investigative Information 222

Summary 226

Further Reading 228

Questions for Discussion and Research 229

10 Suspect Interviewing and Deception 231

The People of the Drama: Explanatory Roles in the Investigation of Crime 233

Strengths and Constraints of Investigative Information 233

Suspects 236

Ekman’s IEE Approach 237

Psychophysiological Lie Detectors 239

The Reid Approach to Interrogation 240

False Confessions 242

False Allegations 242

Written Accounts 244

Summary 248

Further Reading 248

Questions for Discussion and Research 249

Part III Profiling Criminal Actions 251
Models of Offending Behaviour and Applications of Investigative Psychology

11 Acquisitive Crime 253

Differentiating Acquisitive Crime 255

Problems with Typologies 256

Burglary 257

Modelling Burglary 260

Offending Styles: A Narrative Action System for Burglary 262

Robbery 267

Modelling Robbery 270

Modelling Fraud 275

Differentiating Fraud and Fraudsters 276

Narratives of Fraud 283

Summary 284

Further Reading 285

Questions for Discussion and Research 285

12 Sexual Offences 287

The Role of the Victim in Violent Crime 288

Strategies for Destruction of the Person 291

Differentiating Rape 295

Identifying Different Styles of Rape Action 300

Characteristics of Rapists 302

Sexual Assaults on Males 303

Stalking 305

Summary 314

Further Reading 315

Questions for Discussion and Research 315

13 Murder 317

Murder 319

Offending Style in Murder: Understanding the Context of the Encounter 319

Contract Murder 322

Serial Murder 327

Sexual Murder 344

Offender Characteristics 349

Summary 353

Further Reading 353

Questions for Discussion and Research 354

14 Organised Crime 355

The Social Nature of Crime 356

What is Organised Crime? 358

Cultural Ideologies and Criminal Networks 359

Criminal ‘Careers’ within Criminal ‘Organisations’ 361

Social Network Analysis 363

Destructive Organisational Psychology 372

Summary 374

Further Reading 374

Questions for Discussion and Research 375

15 Terrorism 377

The Great Variety of Terrorism 378

Difficulties in Studying Terrorists 379

Modes of Terrorism 382

Explanations for Terrorism 384

Terrorism as Process 386

Summary 390

Further Reading 391

Questions for Discussion and Research 391

16 Investigative Psychology in Action 393

Helping the Police with their Enquiries 394

Assessment and Improvement of Investigative Information 395

Decision Support Systems 399

Dragnet and Other Geographical Profiling Systems 404

Linking Cases (Comparative Case Analysis) 408

Emerging Areas of IP 415

Six Fundamentals of IP 418

The Wider Reaches of an Investigative Psychology 424

Conclusions 425

Further Reading 426

Questions for Discussion and Research 426

Glossary 429

References 437

Index 461